UOW Policy Documents
Policy Documents at a Glance
Writing & Reviewing Policy
CODE OF CONDUCT (STAFF)
Contents
- 1 Purpose of Policy 3
- 2 Definitions 3
- 3 Application & Scope 3
- 4 Conflicts of Interest 3
- 5 Close Personal Relationships 3
- 6 Acceptance of Gifts or Benefits 4
- 7 Discrimination and Harassment 4
- 8 Occupational Health and Safety 5
- 9 Public Comment 5
- 10 Protecting Confidential Information 5
- 11 Electronic Communication and Information 6
- 12 Use of Official Facilities and Equipment 7
- 13 Secondary Employment 7
- 14 Intellectual Property 7
- 15 Copyright 7
- 16 Reporting Corrupt Conduct, Maladministration and Serious and Substantial Waste of Public Resources 7
- 17 The University's Approach to Complaints 7
- 18 Roles & Responsibilities 8
- 19 Version Control and Change History 8
1 Purpose of Policy
- 1. This Code of Conduct is designed to convey the obligations and standards of behaviour expected of staff of the University and to help staff resolve any ethical issues that may arise during the course of their duties.
- 2. The University follows several "guiding principles" in pursuit of its objectives, most importantly consideration and support for the professional development, intellectual and cultural needs of the staff and the student body.
- 3. The University is accountable to its staff, students, the public and governments. It is in the interests of all members of the University to maintain the highest possible ethical standards including accuracy, honesty, cooperation, tolerance and acceptance of obligations as well as rights.
- 4. The University is committed to the principles of equal opportunity and encourages staff to pursue equity in all aspects of their activities.
- 5. The University acknowledges that it cannot formulate policies to address all possible issues which may be faced by members of the University community. The development of an ethical environment relies on each person taking responsibility for his or her own behaviour after considering state and federal law, the University's stated values, the provisions of its codes and policies and the advice of senior staff.
- 6. The University's policies and guidelines provide the structural framework for the Code (see headings below) and are referred to throughout. Acts of New South Wales and Federal Parliaments relevant to this code are listed under References & Legislation.
2 Definitions
3 Application & Scope
Not Available.
4 Conflicts of Interest
- 1. The potential for a conflict of interest arises when an employee is placed in a situation where private interests could influence or appear to influence judgments made during the course of his/her professional duty to the University.
5 Close Personal Relationships
- 1. A potential conflict of interest may arise when an employee of the University is in a personal relationship and in a position to:
- a. advance or hinder the interests of a member or potential member of the University on the basis of their personal relationship; and/or
- b. act to the detriment of the University's interests because of their personal relationship.
- 2. Examples of the types of personal relationships include family relationships, close friendships, sexual relationships or relationships where there have been previous instances of serious conflict between the parties.
- 3. Examples of situations where a conflict of interest may arise include:
- 3.1. Relationships between staff members. For example,
- a. recruitment, selection, appointment, conditions of service, continuing appointment of staff, promotion, reclassification, termination;
- b. provision of opportunities and resource allocation for research, conferences and staff training and development; and
- c. referee reports, performance appraisals or annual development reviews.
- 3.2. Relationships between staff members and students; and
- a. assessment or supervision of students;
- b. selection of students for admission;
- c. award of medals, scholarships; and
- d. providing referee reports.
6 Acceptance of Gifts or Benefits
- 1. The University acknowledges that relationships can develop between service providers and staff and students and staff and does not seek to unduly interfere with such relationships.
- 2. However, staff should not solicit or encourage gift giving or benefits in relation to their professional duties. Receipts of gifts may be perceived as an inducement by others, thus creating a potential conflict of interest. The Conflict of Interest Policy and the Close Personal Relationships Guidelines cover financial as well as other types of assets. Staff must avoid actual as well as potential conflicts of interest.
- 3. Issues of cultural sensitivity are important in our environment, as many of our students are from different backgrounds where certain practices may be acceptable. However, staff are required to comply with contemporary Australian standards, the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act, 1988, the Protected Disclosures Act 1994 and University Guidelines.
- 4. Gifts of a nominal value need not be disclosed. All gifts of substantial value must be declared in writing to the Vice-Principal (Administration) who will decide whether the gift can be kept or should be given to the University.
7 Discrimination and Harassment
- 1. Employees of the University must not discriminate against or harass colleagues, students or members of the public on any grounds including sex, marital status, pregnancy, age, race, ethnic or national origin, physical or intellectual impairment, homosexuality, trans-sexuality and HIV/AIDS. Such harassment or discrimination could constitute an offence under the Anti-Discrimination Act, 1977 or various federal laws. In addition, employees must not harass or discriminate on the grounds of political or religious conviction.
- 2. Direct discrimination occurs when actions, practices or rules exclude persons or a group of people from opportunities because a personal characteristic irrelevant to the situation is applied (whether consciously or unconsciously) as a barrier. For instance, direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably because of that person's race or sex or because of stereotyped ideas, practices or rules based on that person' race or sex.
- 3. Indirect (or systemic) discrimination is defined as rules, practices and decisions which are applied equally, but are not equally fair in their effects. These policies and procedures appear neutral because they are applied equally to everyone but have a different impact on certain segments of the population. For example, many regulations and work practices have been based on assumptions that all people have male or anglo-celtic lifestyles. This means that work patterns and career structures may not in the past have accommodated family responsibilities or diverse values of workers.
- 4. It is the responsibility of Managers and Heads of Units to understand and apply the principles of equal employment opportunity and ensure that the employees whom they supervise understand and adhere to these principles.
- 5. For further information, refer to the University's Policies on EEO/Affirmative Action and Use of Non-Discriminatory Language.
8 Occupational Health and Safety
- 1. The University is committed to the provision of a safe and healthy working environment for staff, students and visitors. As a consequence of this the University encourages all members of the University community to regard accident prevention and working safely as a collective and individual responsibility.
- 2. The University recognises its corporate responsibility under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2000 and associated legislation. Managers have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of all on campus and a. duty to provide and maintain so far as practicable a working environment that is safe and without risks to health.
- 3. Staff teaching, researching or assisting in laboratories must dispose of hazardous and dangerous material in an appropriate fashion.
- 4. For further information, refer to the University's Occupational Health and Safety Policy.
9 Public Comment
- 1. Members of the University are encouraged to participate in public debate on issues of professional and public concern. In doing so however, staff should make it clear that their individually held opinions are not necessarily those of the University.
- 2. Individual members of the University wishing to participate in matters of professional or public debate on behalf of a group of colleagues need formal delegated authority to do so. When these views are presented by a member of the University, care should be taken to attribute them to the particular group that member represents.
- 3. Views which are attributed to the University as a corporate body can only be made public by officers of the University duly designated by Council to act on behalf of the University or by staff members designated by Council, or their delegate, to represent the University's position on specific issues.
- 4. Where doubt exists about the appropriateness of using the University's title or name, the staff member should, in the first instance, discuss the matter with the Dean of Faculty.
- 5. For further information, refer to the Use of the University's Name in Public Statement Policy.
10 Protecting Confidential Information
- 1. All employees of the University must adhere to the principles of confidentiality outlined in the University's Privacy Policy and have a duty to maintain the confidentiality and security of any personal information for which they are responsible, including computerised data.
- 2. Within the University, no staff member shall have access to information about any individual, without that individual's consent unless a responsible officer of the University (as designated in the Privacy Policy) is satisfied that the staff member is acting in the course of his or her duties and that the information is relevant to the purpose for which it is sought.
- 3. No computerised data about any individual should be accessed for other than institution purposes without the full, written authority of that person. Access of personal student or staff records without a specific, job-related purpose constitutes a breach of the Privacy Policy.
- 4. Personal information about staff or students will generally not be released to a third party unless the subject is informed of the reason for its collection and provides full written approval other than in special circumstances where the disclosure may prevent a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of the individual concerned or of another person. However, the University is legally obliged to respond to any request for information in the form of a police warrant, subpoena, summons or other court order.
- 5. For further information refer to the University's Privacy Policy.
11 Electronic Communication and Information
- 1. The following guidelines have been developed by Information Technology Services to assist staff in their use of electronic communication services, including email and newsgroups and electronic information services including Campus Wide Information Services (CWIS), the World Wide Web (WWW) and other services available via the Internet.
Electronic Communication
- 2. General messages, known as "broadcasts" should be posted only to UOW Newsgroups.
- 3. The "All Academic Staff", "All General Staff" and "Urgent Notices" e-mail groups are available only for the transmission of important and urgent notices through the e-mail environment. Messages to these groups should fall into one of the following categories:
- a. life threatening;
- b. an issue that involves the majority of staff;
- c. changes to pre-announced schedule or notification of an important event to occur within the following 24 hours;
- d. security issues;
- e. problems with communication services or utilities such as gas, water and electricity.
- 4. All staff should ensure they they have an email password to prevent the fraudulent misuse of personal mailboxes and newsgroups.
- 5. Staff should not:
- a. leave workstations unattended while logged into e-mail as this can lead to the fraudulent use of individual accounts, which staff may ultimately be held responsible for;
- b. use another person's account without their permission to read their e-mail, send an e-mail message or to post articles to newsgroups;
- c. send e-mail or post articles to newsgroups, which could prove to be defamatory or bring the University's standing into disrepute;
- d. use computing facilities to harass others by sending abusive, threatening or defamatory messages.
- 6. Postings should not be made to either email or the newsgroups for external business or commercial reasons. This does not include posting involving personal items, from members of the University community, that are in the general interests of the community, eg sale of personal property. It should be noted that such postings should only be made to the Classifieds newsgroup.
Electronic Information
- 7. The University's Campus Wide Information Service (CWIS) caters for all information services and accesses a number of information providers through the World Wide Web. It should be noted that the University does not control any of the information that is available on the network other than that which exists on its own internal services.
- 8. Staff should be careful to acknowledge and address copyright issues involved with material they obtain and use from the network.
- 9. Staff should not use the University's computing facilities to access, download, transmit or display material which might be offensive to members of the University community and the public and is not relevant to their work, study or research.
- 10. A computer user may not use computer facilities for or on behalf of any party for the purpose of profit-making or commercial activity, unless written permission has been obtained from the Chief Technology Officer or a nominee.
- 11. For further information, please refer to the Information Technology Service Division’s Rules Governing the Use of IT Facilities and other IT policies.
12 Use of Official Facilities and Equipment
- 1. Staff of the University are responsible for the effective and economical use of university resources, and have a duty to safeguard the University's assets. Unless express permission has been granted, University resources are not to be used for private purposes.
13 Secondary Employment
- 1. Members of the academic staff of the University are encouraged to undertake contract research, consultancy and other similar external work, provided that this is not done in a way which conflicts with the interests of the University and should be of a standard which enhances the prestige of the University and the professional reputations of the staff involved.
- 2. Academic staff may undertake private consultancies providing this does not interfere with the time commitment of duties and responsibilities associated with the staff member's employment with the University. It must be clearly understood that the University accepts no responsibility for the consultancy work of staff members when they are acting in a private capacity.
- 3. For academic staff, participation in consultancy work (University or private) or contract research, whether University based or private, requires prior approval.
- 4. For further information, refer to the University's Commercial Research Policy and Secondary Employment Policy.
14 Intellectual Property
- 1. Intellectual Property generated by University staff and students is managed by the University's IP Intellectual Property Policy.
15 Copyright
- 1. Staff members should ensure that any work for which they claim authorship is original and where it includes the works of another party the work is appropriately acknowledged.
16 Reporting Corrupt Conduct, Maladministration and Serious and Substantial Waste of Public Resources
- 1. Employees are urged to report suspicions of corrupt conduct, maladministration and serious and substantial waste of University resources.
- 2. When an employee of the University suspects corrupt conduct, the employee may report the allegation in confidence to the Vice-Principal (Administration) who is the University's disclosure coordinator. The employee may also discuss the allegation with his/her supervisor. Any such allegations will be treated in strict confidence and investigated as considered appropriate.
- 3. If an employee does not consider it appropriate to disclose an allegation of suspected corrupt conduct to his/her supervisor, disclosure should be made directly to the disclosure coordinator or the Vice-Chancellor.
- 4. The Protected Disclosures Act 1994 offers protection for University officials who make disclosure concerning corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious or substantial waste of public money.
- 5. For further information please refer to the University's Corruption Prevention Policy.
17 The University's Approach to Complaints
- 1. The University treats all complaints seriously and makes every effort to investigate complaints expeditiously. People should make every effort to direct complaints through the proper channels.
- 2. The University applies the principles of natural justice in investigating complaints. The University acknowledges that there are multiple pathways to deal with complaints. It is useful, prior to making a complaint, to consult with appropriate persons to identify the best way to proceed. These could include the Unions on campus, the Employment Equity and Diversity Unit and the Dean of Students.
- 3. Employees are encouraged to consider all potential complaints carefully and should not make frivolous, malicious or vexatious complaints.
18 Roles & Responsibilities
- 1. Roles and responsibilities are as detailed in this code of conduct.
19 Version Control and Change History
Version Control |
Date Effective |
Approved By |
Amendment |
1 |
2 June 2000 |
University Council |
New Policy |
2 |
6 May 2009 |
Vice Principal (Administration) |
Migrated to UOW Policy Template as per Policy Directory Refresh |
Last reviewed: 27 August, 2009
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